Ivor Brown

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Ivor John Carnegie Brown CBE (25 April 1891 – 22 April 1974) was a British journalist, editor and author. He was born in Penang, Malaya, and studied at Balliol College, Oxford. After a brief stint in the civil service, he left to become a freelance writer.

Brown became the London drama critic for The Manchester Guardian (1919–1935) and also wrote for the Saturday Review. In 1929 he began reviewing for The Observer, and during World War II he served as acting editor. He was editor of The Observer from 1942 to 1948, and he continued as the paper’s drama critic until 1954.

A prolific writer, Brown published more than 75 books on literature, language, Shakespeare and related topics, along with essays, biographies and some plays. He also contributed to the BBC at various times.

In his private life, Brown married Irene Gladys Hentschel in 1916; they had no children. He received several honors, including a CBE in 1957, honorary degrees from St Andrews and Aberdeen, and the Order of the Dannebrog from Denmark. He held roles such as professor of drama at the Royal Society of Literature and director of drama for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts.

Brown died in Hampstead, London, in 1974, aged 82. Friends described him as private in person but kind and witty when you spoke with him.